Naylor thwarts Oak Ridge baseball team again in sectional

NAYLOR, Mo. -- There was no secret to what Naylor pitcher Taylor Davis was doing on the mound against Oak Ridge in Monday's Class 1 sectional round.

"Coach just told me to pitch as good as I could, and he told me to try to find the inside corner because it wasn't really working for them," Davis said. "I tried to focus on that and ended up pulling it off."

He said it took him just two batter to recognize what would be a key to his success in Naylor's 11-5 win on its home field.

"I noticed it about them, that they just couldn't turn on it," Davis said. "And I took advantage of it as much as I could."

The Blue Jays noticed the trend almost as fast but couldn't force Davis to change his tactics.

"He had a pretty nice two-seam fastball, which would ride in on us and we'd kind of jump away a lot of times and that got us called out on strikes quite a bit," Oak Ridge senior catcher Dakota Zoellner said.

"We were just watching the inside corner too much," Blue Jays third baseman Hunter Seyer said. "We were taking it too much."

Oak Ridge collected just two hits in the game's first five innings as the Eagles built a 9-0 lead.

"Our guys got frustrated early," Oak Ridge coach Seth Fortenberry said. "The umpire behind the plate made it known that he was going to call the inside corner, and that's part of it.

"We've got to make that adjustment. It probably took us almost five innings to make that adjustment. Once we finally made the adjustment, the game was almost out of reach."

Naylor ended the Blue Jays' season in the sectional round for a second consecutive season. Then junior Dalton Woodard one-hit the Blue Jays last season, but Naylor coach Jeff Null decided to save Woodard, who started in center field Monday, this season.

"Kind of like what Oak Ridge did last year, they started [Kelby] Brown last year and saved [Brett] Thomas," Null said. "They'd been there before, you know? We did the same thing. We felt like it gave us the best chance in the next round if we did win.

"We were going to pull him pretty quickly, but he just kept throwing up zeros up there. Five shutout innings and he gutted through the sixth. He was done, but it was big for us to save Dalton another inning for Wednesday."

Oak Ridge scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning, which was highlighted by a two-RBI double by Zoellner.

"It was pretty nice," Zoellner said. "At least I got a hit in my last game with two people on."

The Blue Jays collected five of their seven hits in the inning and cut the Naylor lead to 9-5 an inning after the Eagles threatened to close out a run-rule win.

"It took a lot of character for the guys to bounce back the way they did," Fortenberry said. "I was proud of that. I was proud of them for doing that. They could've rolled over and given it to them there in the fifth when it was 9-0 and gone on home. But they stepped up and put up five runs in the sixth and showed a little pride, showed a little class."

Oak Ridge's best offensive opportunity outside of the fifth inning came with Naylor leading just 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning.

A hit by Seyer, who was 2 for 3 in the game, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with two outs, but Davis induced a grounder to second base from freshman Kaleb Siemer.

The Eagles scored four times off Oak Ridge starter Lance Rohde in the bottom of the inning with the help of two hit batsmen, a walk and two-RBI single by No. 9 hitter Jordan McGee. Woodard also doubled home two runs in the inning.

"That was big," Null said. "We just answered them and kind of deflated them a little bit."

Naylor will host Oran in a state quarterfinal rematch at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Oran advanced to the final four with a dramatic and wild 14-13 win over Naylor on its home field last season. Oran scored five runs, four of which came on a grand slam by Alex Heuring, in the top of the seventh inning to erase Naylor's lead.

Woodard pitched 2 2/3 innings in last season's matchup, the maximum he was allowed by rule after throwing in the sectional round. He allowed one hit and struck out six batters.

"I'm looking forward to it," Davis said. "Last year we had a chance, but then they really laid it on us, so maybe we'll get redemption this year."

Oak Ridge 000 005 0 -- 5 7 1

Naylor 020 432 x -- 11 8 1

WP -- Taylor Davis. LP -- Lance Rohde. 3B -- Aaron Graham (N), Dawson Goodrum (N). 2B -- Dakota Zoellner (OR), Dalton Woodard (N). Multiple hits -- Oak Ridge: Jake LeGrand 2-3, Hunter Seyer 2-3; Naylor: Goodrum 2-3, Jordan McGee 2-4. Record -- Oak Ridge 11-13, Naylor 11-9.